For Devonte and his siblings, path to Harts started in Texas foster care

Six southwest Washington siblings presumed dead after their family vehicle careened off a coastal California cliff were adopted through the Texas foster care system, officials confirmed Thursday.

Jennifer and Sarah Hart adopted the children from southeast Texas in 2006 and 2009, said Tiffani Butler, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

The bodies of three of the children, Markis, 19; Jeremiah, 14; and Abigail, 14, were discovered along with the bodies of their mothers at the bottom of a cliff near Westport, California. Hannah, 16; Devonte, 15; and Sierra, 12, remain missing. Police are investigating what happened.

The family gained international attention in 2014 after a photo of Devonte hugging a Portland police officer was shared widely online. The Harts lived in West Linn at the time, but moved last year to Woodland, Washington.

They spent much of their children's early years in Minnesota. In May 2005, Sarah Hart petitioned to change her last name from Gengler to Hart. She said she lived in Alexandria, a town of 13,000 about 130 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

The Hart family expanded the next year.

Siblings Markis, Abigail and Hannah were adopted by the Harts in September 2006 from Colorado County, Texas, Butler said. The county seat is 70 miles west of Houston.

The Harts adopted a second set of siblings, Devonte, Jeremiah and Sierra, in February 2009 from Harris County, where Houston is located, Butler said.

In a post shared by friends on Facebook, Jennifer Hart described meeting Jeremiah and his siblings on a hot Houston day. "Sarah and I walked out to the playground at the CPS building, and without hesitation, he let go of the social worker's hand and walked right up to me. Jeremiah wrapped his tiny arms around my legs and didn't let go."

It's unclear why the children were removed from their birth families.

Butler said records pertaining to the adoption would be in their court files. Clerks at the Harris and Colorado county courthouses said Texas adoption records are closed and require a judge's order to open.

The link between the Harts and the Texas foster care system is also a mystery.

Ellen Yarrell, a Houston adoption attorney, said state officials are first required to search for relatives who may be able to take in the children of parents whose rights were terminated. After a 90-day period, the state can then consider other placements, such as foster parents.

Butler said judges must consider what's best for children. It's not uncommon for children to be adopted out of state, she said. "If the family in Minnesota is the best family for that child, then that's where the child is placed."

Social workers must also try to keep siblings together, said Mark Fiddler, a Minneapolis adoption attorney. It can be difficult to find families who can accommodate several siblings. "Counties can cast a wider net for families that are trying to adopt sibling groups," he said.

Another standard law governs adoptions that cross state lines. A family's home state must complete a home study before a family can adopt a child from another state. It's a rigorous process in Minnesota, Fiddler said. The laws also require monitoring after the placements, he said.

Katie Bauer, a spokeswoman for Minnesota's child protection agency, said any records regarding its involvement with the Hart family were not immediately available.

However, court records indicate the agency had at least one interaction with the family after the children were adopted.

Sarah Hart faced criminal charges for hitting her daughter Abigail, then 6, in November 2010, about 1 1/2 years after the couple's final adoption was completed. A court filing says a social worker interviewed Abigail after she said her mom hit her.

Social workers there tried unsuccessfully to contact the family three times within the last week in response to a call of concern made by neighbors. The family was seen leaving Friday after social workers visited the home for the first time.

Mike Fealy lived across from the Hart family in Minnesota. Fealy and his wife chatted with the Harts but did not know them intimately. They learned the Harts adopted the children from abusive situations. One mother home-schooled the children while the other worked at a clothing store, he said. They kept up their house and yard, and the children appeared well-dressed, he said.